Turbine



imm?

' sept. u, 1923.

V. KAPLAN TURBINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sc-apt,

Sept. M, w23. lm

V. KAFLAN TURBINE Filed sept. 1, 1921 @wwf-@ey 2 Mtnesse {J7/venian Y l /MM p gk@ www .Patented sept. 11, 1923.

. Iist@ vieron xrL/AN, or BRUNN, aus'rara. l

rimarra.

Toallwkomitma concern.

Be it known t at I, Vieron KAPLAN, a subject to the Emperor of Austria, residing` at the K. K. Deutschey Technische Hochschule at Brunn, Mahren, Austria, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Turbines, of which the following is a specification.

`My invention relates to improvements in turbines, and more particularly of that type described in my application ,Serial No. 854149, dated June 30, 1914. The improvements described in said application. have reference to means for governing the admission of water to turbine-wheels, said means consisting in a rotor wheel for turbine machines comprising a seriesrof rotatably `mounted runner blades adapted to vary their inlet and outlet angles by being rotated and thereby to alter the inletand outlet passages of the rotor wheel both according to the supply ofthe driving medium and the -demand for work. t be done.

By my present invention I succeed in so governing the admission that high-speed turbines will show high eliiciency not only when the full admission but also when the admission is considerably reduced. This result I obtain by employing a series of wing-shaped blades rotatably mounted on the hub of the rotor-wheel. Moreover, I4 so shape the blades asto allow mainly axial admission.

The device of admitting the driving medium is adjusted in such a manner as to offer the least possible resistance to the free passage of the driving agent.

In the drawings erewith, in which I vhave shown my invention, by way of illus-l tration.

Fig. 1v is a vertical section through the turbine, the right half showing a vertical A section along line M-'N `of Fig 1,

section of the inner parts;

Fig. 2 is aplan view of Fig. 1, with the cover removed, theright hand side being a Fig. 3 isa side-elevation of the regulating or overning device;

ig. 4 is a view of the outer ends of the blades;

Fi 5 is a view of the inner ends of the said iladeswith the curved crank-shaped arms; l v

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a runner' blade formed integral with its crank arm and its end. pivot.

Application filed September 1, 1921.' Serial No. l'l'.

Fig. 7 is a similar view as Fig. 3, showing modification of the regulating device. F'Fig7. 8 is a plan View, partly in section, of

ig. ,9 is a perspective view of a runner blade, adapted to be employed in connection with the modification shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of a detail of the regulating device.

The turbine is e uipped with a guidewheelL which may e constructed in the usual manner.

Said guide wheel comprises a series of vanes G, mounted, each, on a fixed pivot 1,

the upper end of which, being threaded,

extends upwards through the cover D, while kthe lower end extends downwards through the horizontal flange of the suction tube T, near the governing ringR At a convenlent distance below the'lower edges of the guide vanes G the runner is located, consisting of a series of blades B, provided with trunnionslnlaced in bearings of the regulating hub and adapted to turn within said hub. The force' of reaction exercised by the waterflow on the surface of the'runner blades will be transmitted to the hub H and from the latter tothe shaft A of the turbine, to which the hub is keyed. The Water having exhausted its drivi power in the machine, flows oil through pipe T to a waste-channel.

The blades of the runner wheel may be adjusted as follows: A

Each blade B has a projecting arm d, from which extends a crank-pin g in the same direction as the trunnion p, by which the said blade can turn within the'hub H. The trunnion p is provided with a collar u (Figs. 6 and 9) for preventing its being displaced within the bore of the hubv H.

fw is a connecting rod having yokes screwedy for, an axial displacement of the sleeve S.

A key 1c, however, forces the said sleeve to participate in the rotary motions of the hub I-I. Near the upper end of the sleeve S a step-bearin is provided, into which fits' `the collar a ig. 1) of a tubular piece e',

to which a vertical motion may. be imparted two adjacent blades by the rods F, adapted to move in lugs a of the turbine casing. The upper ends of said rods F may be connected to levers, or any other means, by the .aid of which the axial displacement of the said guide-rods ma be effected by hand or mechanically.

lbf therefore, the rods F be moved upwards in the direction of the arrows l (Fig. l), the sleeve S will be caused by the collar .e to move in the same direction and, by means of the arms d, the blades B will beturned about their trunnions p in the direction of the arrows 3 in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. The angle of admission of the blade, thereby, will not only be increased, but also the area of the passage through the runner, and, thereby, the output of the turbine, without any material loss are moved downwards, the blades B will be turned in the opposite direction, narrowing the passage through the wheel and thereby 'diminishing the effective output.

As willbe seen from Fig. 5 the arm d of the blade B extends about midway between B. In an arrangement of this kind the lenteli of the blade-arms d depends on the num r'of blades employed. To allow the arms d to be given sufficient length where' a large number of blades are used, I have constructed the modification shown in Figs. 7 to 9. In this case the arm v d has such an inclination relative to the blade as to permit its being lengthened without interfering with the ad aoent blades. Each increase of inclination o the arm relative to the blade, however, will increase the amount of force required for turning the blades. For this purpose I providefor each blade a double lever O '(Fig. 7 pivoted to the hub H. The ends of said levers O are connected, res ctively, with the crank-pin g and to the s eeve S by means of separate connecting rods fw and w1. The operation of this modification, is much the same as that described before except that by moving the sleeve S the blades will be moved in the reverse direction as before.

In order to providel for equal lengths of the connecting rods fw andl fw1 and to establish uniformity' of the position of the crank arms d and of the blades B, relative tothe shaft A, the length of the members w and 'w1 can be adjusted. As will be seen from Fig. 10, the length of the rods rw may be increased or shortened by screwing upon it an adjustable piece wz.

Since the hub H and the regulating device are enclosed within the cas' of the turbine, it is evidentythatthe ameter of the hub must be reduced as much as possible to allow of la suliicient passage for the driving water. -Also it will be evident that the arrangement ofthe regulating `device concentrically with, and in close proxcaused by eddies andshocks. If on the other hand, the rods F proximately equal.

dent, that by locating the regulating device in close proximity to the axis of the runnerwheel the centrifugal influence of the revolving parts will be greatly lessened.

n Fig. 4 I have shown the development iof two adjacent outer edges of blades B,

near the suction tube T, and it will be seen, that the normal trajectories n, anda2 drawn from the blade sections b1, b1 do not intersect the adjacent profile. This arrangement of the blades offers the particular advantage of reducing the number of blades as compared with other turbines, evenif the length of the blades should be equal or ap- The fewer the blades, he more easily can be constructed their bearings within the regulating-hub which has the advantage of enabling the diameter s- (Fig. l) of the hub to be reduced.

In Fig. 4 I have v.further indicated by broken lines another blade section b2, to point thereby the space taken b v an adjacent blade in the case of the doubling of the runner blades, It will be ls een, that by so.

` doubling the number of the blades, the normal trajectories h3 and n, are drawn, which, together with the other normal .trajectories n and n2, determine a channel-Shaped space l between the blades b, and b2, the saidspace being indicated in Fig. 4 by cross-hatching. A cell-shape of this form, however,'would not only materially increase the frictional resistance ofthe turbine, but also be objectionable as to the convenient arrangement of the bearings of the trunnions within the hub, as will be understood from Fig. 5. In the said figure I have indicated the development of two blade sections 3 5,., in proximity to the hub of the runner. Owing to the decrease of pitch with relation to the axis of the turbine, the respective distance be'- tween the sections has been equally reduced, but it is still suiicent to properly place the trunnions p ofthe blades in the hub H. Also" the length of the arms d can still be selected of sutlicient size to allow of conveniently turning the blade with little exertion and without interference with the adjacent blades. If'the blades be doubled '(i. e. if the blade b, shown in broken lines in Fig. 5 is drawn in full) it will be seen, that not suliicient room would be left for placing the ltrunnions of the blade in the hub, nor for 1 to improve the position and the shape of the v entrance edges r of the bladesB. The said blades running at very high speed are very whether said edge extends in a straight line or in the shape of a curve, if only the gen-Y eral feature of a .radial or slightly inclined course of the entrance edge be adopted,` ForA instance, I prefer to increase the breadth of the blade in the axial direction towards the axis, as'indicated in Fig. 1, in"order to Vincrease the security of the blades against being deformed b `the counteracting pressure of the water. hel admission on the blade, therefore, is arranged, in general, in the axial direction.

The adjustment of the guide vanes is car- Aried out in the usual manner by turning an adjustment ring R to which the vanes G are secured by links t, the vanes Gr turning round the bolts Z. The arrangement may be moditied so that the Aguide-vanas are caused to turn simultaneously with the runner-blades, as it has been fully described in my above said application No.y 854,149.

The vanes Gr, as represented in Figs. 1 and 2 herein, are dierent from-those usually employed, inasmuch as their outlet edges it project beyond the ange f (Fig. 1) 'of the suc-` tion tube T. yIn this way the water cannot only escape along the said outlet edges k, but also along the lower edges `e ofthe vanes. In my PatentNo. 1,399,009 I have described a guide-wheel of this kind, in combination with a runner wheel with axial admission. But good results may be equally obtained according to the present method of. regulating the runner blades, 'provided that the lower edges h of the gulde vanes do not extend beyond the rimof ange f (Fig. 1) as I have'shown in my application No. 877,782 of December 17th, 1914.

O f course I do `not limit my invention to the application of guide-wheels above mentioned, but a means may also be used With good results,- which leads the water to the runner wheel in the axial or in an inclined direction'. i

Experiments have proved that rigid vanes used as guide-vanes will have good results with .a runner wheel having adjustable blades, that materially improved results are obtained and that the variable admission, owing to the rotary faculty of the runner blades, is by far superior to the method hitherto in use according to which the blades of the runner were established rigid or motionless and the vanes of the guide wheel pivotally arranged. It will be well understood therefrom, thatthe position of the 'influence on the applicability of theregnlating system herein described. My invention, accordingly, will be applicable as well to turbines having vertical, horizontal or inclined positions of their axes. But I lay particular stress upon' the wing-shaped form of the blades of the runner with axial admission, as thereby, I secure not only a perfectly safe bearing for the trunnions of the. blades, but also a materialldecrease of losses caused-through friction of water.

\ By practical tests I have ascertained that, owing to the wing-shaped form ofthe blades and the substantially axial admission, the speciic speed hitherto obtained may -be doubled with very ood results, andthat ow. ing to these wing-s aped blades being made \turnable, very good results may be obtained v'el with but half'the'admissi'on of driving A turbine with a runner wheel of the kind described, accordingly, will be applicable everywhere and particularly for high specific speeds and alsofor a scanty consumption of driving Huid. It is well known, that many water-courses cannot be utilized for, the reason, that either the numberof revolutions obtained is too small, and low specific speeds require expensive machinery and buildings,

or that the water-courseA temporarily so much l reoedes, that, with the methods 4hitherto known no practical results can :be expected f ing ,medium and each carrying a crank shaped arm near the said hub, and means for turning said bladesv by means of said arms while in operation.

3. In turbine, the combination with a guide-wheel having guide-venes, ot a hub, a sleeve movable relative thereto, blades"movably mounted on said hub for substantially axial admission vof the driving medium, connecting means between the said blades and the said sleeve, vand means for axiall displacing the said sleeve for adjusting t e angular position of the said blades.

4. In a turbine, the combination with the guide-wheel having guide-vanes, 'of a'hb, a sleeve movable and` provided with a ring-step bearing, a

relative to the said hub Irods carr tube-shaped member fitting in said bearing,

ing said tube-shaped member. movable bla es mounted on said hub for sabstantially axial admission of the driving medium, connecting means between the said blades and the said sleeve, and means for axially displacing the said sleeve relative to the said hub by means of the said rods.

5. In a turbine, the combination with a guide-Wheel having guide-vanes, of a mov'- able sleeve, a hub, blades movab'ly mounted on said hub, each blade being provided with a crank-arm, a rod connecting the said crankarm with the said sleeve, and means for axially displacing the said sleeve relative to the said hub.

6. In a turbine, the eombinationwith a guide-wheel having able sleeve, a hub, blades movably mounted en the said hub and each blade being proguide-vanes,o a movvided with a crank-arm, a rod connecting the said crank-arms with the said sleeve, means for axially moving the said sleeve relative to the said hub, and means for -varying the length of the said rods.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VICTOR KA-PLAN.

Witnesses:

JOHANN FLEISCHMANN, l AUGUST FUGGER. 

